What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean?
In this contribution we explore constraints on the fractions of deep water present in the Indian and Pacific oceans which originated in the northern Atlantic and in the Southern Ocean. Based on PO<sub>4</sub>* we show that if ventilated Antarctic shelf waters characterize the Southern...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018-06-01
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| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/3779/2018/bg-15-3779-2018.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818213535927238656 |
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| author | J. W. B. Rae W. Broecker |
| author_facet | J. W. B. Rae W. Broecker |
| author_sort | J. W. B. Rae |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this contribution we explore constraints on the fractions of deep water
present in the Indian and Pacific oceans which originated in the northern
Atlantic and in the Southern Ocean. Based on PO<sub>4</sub>* we show that
if ventilated Antarctic shelf waters characterize the Southern contribution,
then the proportions could be close to 50–50. If instead a Southern Ocean
bottom water value is used, the Southern contribution is increased to
75 %. While this larger estimate may best characterize the volume of
water entering the Indo-Pacific from the Southern Ocean, it contains a
significant portion of entrained northern water. We also note that
ventilation may be highly tracer dependent: for instance Southern Ocean
waters may contribute only 35 % of the deep radiocarbon budget, even if
their volumetric contribution is 75 %. In our estimation, the most
promising approaches involve using CFC-11 to constrain the amount of deep
water formed in the Southern Ocean. Finally, we highlight the broad utility
of PO<sub>4</sub>* as a tracer of deep water masses, including descending
plumes of Antarctic Bottom Water and large-scale patterns of deep ocean
mixing, and as a tracer of the efficiency of the biological pump. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:05:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83eb78378f1e4de1ba5c2f0755bd9c1a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:05:50Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biogeosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-83eb78378f1e4de1ba5c2f0755bd9c1a2022-12-22T00:35:17ZengCopernicus PublicationsBiogeosciences1726-41701726-41892018-06-01153779379410.5194/bg-15-3779-2018What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean?J. W. B. Rae0W. Broecker1School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Irvine Building, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9AL, UKLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W/P.O. Box 1000, Palisades, NY 10964, USAIn this contribution we explore constraints on the fractions of deep water present in the Indian and Pacific oceans which originated in the northern Atlantic and in the Southern Ocean. Based on PO<sub>4</sub>* we show that if ventilated Antarctic shelf waters characterize the Southern contribution, then the proportions could be close to 50–50. If instead a Southern Ocean bottom water value is used, the Southern contribution is increased to 75 %. While this larger estimate may best characterize the volume of water entering the Indo-Pacific from the Southern Ocean, it contains a significant portion of entrained northern water. We also note that ventilation may be highly tracer dependent: for instance Southern Ocean waters may contribute only 35 % of the deep radiocarbon budget, even if their volumetric contribution is 75 %. In our estimation, the most promising approaches involve using CFC-11 to constrain the amount of deep water formed in the Southern Ocean. Finally, we highlight the broad utility of PO<sub>4</sub>* as a tracer of deep water masses, including descending plumes of Antarctic Bottom Water and large-scale patterns of deep ocean mixing, and as a tracer of the efficiency of the biological pump.https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/3779/2018/bg-15-3779-2018.pdf |
| spellingShingle | J. W. B. Rae W. Broecker What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean? Biogeosciences |
| title | What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean? |
| title_full | What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean? |
| title_fullStr | What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean? |
| title_full_unstemmed | What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean? |
| title_short | What fraction of the Pacific and Indian oceans' deep water is formed in the Southern Ocean? |
| title_sort | what fraction of the pacific and indian oceans deep water is formed in the southern ocean |
| url | https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/3779/2018/bg-15-3779-2018.pdf |
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